How can TSA precheck lose its essential meaning?

[Folly]

@D_Anconia

The latest article I could find (September 2015) said that Managed Inclusion II has ended, but Managed Inclusion I was still in effect. I was wrong.

Here is a more recent article

TSA PreCheck Lanes Won't Be Members-Only Anytime Soon

The change in September was the end of a practice called Managed Inclusion II, which included swabbing passengers’ hands to detect traces of explosives and using behavior detection tactics before sending them into the fast lane.

But the agency continues to use Managed Inclusion I, where passengers who are screened by TSA canines can be sent to PreCheck lanes. And travelers who are not enrolled in the program may still get a TSA PreCheck designation on their boarding pass when their Secure Flight information — name, date of birth and gender — is matched against security databases.

[kayaker]

@Channing_Idaho_Banks

I never fly, but my last two flights were magically pre checked.

:dubious: Wut?

[DrFidelius]

In early April, the Wife and I did not get Pre Check on our flight out to Phoenix (from Kennedy) but we did get it on our return flight. I have never signed up for any special program but seem to have been given Pre Check on three out of the last four flights we have taken.

[Boyo_Jim]

The OP is assuming that TSA precheck HAS an “essential meaning.” That is not in evidence. It’s unclear to me that TSA itself has an essential meaning.

[Machine_Elf]

@CC

I don’t know if you’re being facetious or not. The citation I’m using is my own experience which seems to contradict your assertion that the TSA Precheck was ended 8 months ago. I guess you’d want to call that an anecdote.

Wife had same experience a couple of weeks ago.

Shortly after that flight we had our final interview for 5-year Global Entry/Precheck approval, so we won’t have to deal with any 3-hour lines or shoe-doffing for a while.

[Eyebrows_0f_Doom]

@D_Anconia

The TSA ended the random selection of passengers for Pre-Check (a program called Managed Inclusion) some eight months ago.

TSA Ends Free Passes to Airport Pre-Check Lines

I flew in October of last year and was randomly selected for Pre-Check, as was my father.

So, yay I think, I don’t have to take off my belt or shoes, I leave them on and go through the scanner, and what happens but the machine goes off and the TSA worker says it’s because I left my belt on. I have to go back, then take it off, then go through again and no alarms this time.

What the hell was the whole point of that? The damn Pre-Check took more time than if I had just taken the belt off to begin with!

[UncleRojelio]

Only tangentially related to Pre-Check but how many of you have tried to use the Global Entry and/or Mobile Pass when reentering the country? In my experience so far, the line for Crew/Global Entry/Mobile Pass is now often longer than the line for plebes. Mobile Pass seems to be the better option because there are often fewer Global Entry kiosks available introducing yet another wait. But overall, getting to the Immigration hall now seems to be a shell game of picking the line that you think will move the quickest.

[friedo]

I think it depends a lot on the arrival airport and how many Global Entry kiosks are available. I usually enter the country at JFK and Global Entry seems to go very fast. But I suppose the majority of travelers arriving at JFK are tourists rather than returning citizens. So even if the GE line is longer it will probably move a lot faster.

[UncleRojelio]

@friedo

I think it depends a lot on the arrival airport and how many Global Entry kiosks are available. I usually enter the country at JFK and Global Entry seems to go very fast. But I suppose the majority of travelers arriving at JFK are tourists rather than returning citizens. So even if the GE line is longer it will probably move a lot faster.

Problem is that there is normally only one GE line and there are multiple regular lines. And every entry airport is a little different so it keeps me guessing.

[UltraVires]

@UncleRojelio

Problem is that there is normally only one GE line and there are multiple regular lines. And every entry airport is a little different so it keeps me guessing.

That happens to me a lot and it is annoying. There might be 5 regular lanes and 1 lane reserved to “Delta Elite Members” or some similar high sounding thing. However, it turns out that you can be a Delta Elite Member for free at the time you purchase your ticket. Therefore 80% of the passengers are Delta Elite members cramming into the one lane making it quicker just to go through the regular lane.